"You did?" exclaimed the girl. "Where?"
"He'd just pulled off a job in Oakdale an' had his
pockets bulgin' wid sparklers an' kale. We was follerin'
him an' when we seen your light up here we t'ought it
was him."
The Oskaloosa Kid shrank closer to Bridge. At last he
recognized the voice of the speaker. While he had known
that the two were of The Sky Pilot's band he had not
been sure of the identity of either; but now it was borne
in upon him that at least one of them was the last per-
son on earth he cared to be cooped up in a small, un-
lighted room with, and a moment later when one of
the two rolled a 'smoke' and lighted it he saw in the
flare of the flame the features of both Dopey Charlie
and The General. The Oskaloosa Kid gasped once more
for the thousandth time that night.
It had been Dopey Charlie who lighted the cigaret
and in the brief illumination his friend The General had
grasped the opportunity to scan the features of the
other members of the party. Schooled by long years of
repression he betrayed none of the surprise or elation
he felt when he recognized the features of The Oska-
loosa Kid.
If The General was elated The Oskaloosa Kid was at
once relieved and terrified.
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